[P2P-F] Fwd: 2011 End-of-year Newsletter from thomas greco

[Michel Bauwens]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Thomas Greco <thg at mindspring.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 4:11 AM
Subject: 2011 End-of-year Newsletter
To: Thomas Greco <thg at mindspring.com>


 *2011 End-of-year Newsletter*

*Holiday Greetings!*

Here is an update on what I’ve been thinking and doing since my return from
Asia two months ago. I know this is a busy time of year for everyone, so
I’ll keep it brief.

*Michigan conference and presentation links*

*The 2011 International Conference on Sustainability, Transition & Culture
Change: Vision, Action, Leadership* that was held in Michigan in November
was very productive and enjoyable. Amongst the participants with whom I had
opportunity to interact were Australian economist Steve Keen, author
of *Debunking
Economics <http://debunkingeconomics.com/>**, *Nicole Foss of *Automatic
Earth <http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/>*, and Albert Bates of
the Eco-village
Training Center <http://www.thefarm.org/etc/> and The Farm in Tennessee. I
was also inspired to hear the stories of a number of land-based
participants from Michigan and the Midwest who have taken significant steps
to prepare for the transformation and are well positioned to thrive
throughout the chrysalis stage of the ongoing societal metamorphosis.

I gave a somewhat abbreviated version of my slide presentation on *The
Emerging Butterfly Society*. This was recorded, along with the rest of the
conference proceedings <http://www.livestream.com/localfuture/>, and can be
accessed at
http://www.livestream.com/localfuture/video?clipId=pla_ade24121-d46d-4448-863c-babe129a604f.
Be sure to also watch Albert Bates’ amazing story about the history of
The Farm. It’s a remarkable tale of what a small group of people can
achieve to help others when they have love in their hearts and shared
objectives.

I was also invited, by one of my colleagues who lives in the area, to be
interviewed for a cable TV series that he produces (*Investigating
Community Resilience*), for a program called *Outside In*. On the day
following the conference we met at Up North studio in Traverse City,
Michigan to record two half-hour segments that were to be broadcast via
cable during the following weeks. These are now available on the program
website. The first segment can be downloaded at
http://ir.nrec.org/content/author-tom-greco-talk-about-history-money-and-debt,
and the second at http://ir.nrec.org/content/more-tom-greco.

I think these went particularly well because the interviewer, Dave Barrons,
is an TV personality with many years of experience who has a strong
interest in the topics of my books and was well prepared with some
excellent questions. Please watch these and pass the word along to your
networks.

The next in this series of Local Future
<http://www.localfuture.org/>conferences is being planned for the end
of May 2012. Since next
year’s BALLE conference
<http://www.livingeconomies.org/conference-2012>will be held in Grand
Rapids from May 15 to 18, it seems advantageous to
hold it in the same city immediately following. Watch the LF
website<http://www.localfuture.org/>for details.

*Jubilee: The only way out of the Global Financial Predicament*

As I wrote more than three years ago in *The End of Money*, “the growth god
is dead.” We must face the fact that the limits to physical growth have
been reached. This does not necessarily mean a decline in living standards
or a global war for control of resources. There is plenty enough to provide
a dignified life for everyone on the planet and even two or three billion
more. We have been tremendously successful in developing “labor saving”
machinery and technologies that can make us more healthier and more
comfortable. The problem is that those benefits have not been equitably
distributed and the whole range of incentives that are built into the
industrial society promotes waste and conflict. We can all live much better
while consuming less stuff, but to achieve that we’ll need to reinvent
money, banking and finance. Accelerating debt growth cannot continue much
longer. One way or another, much of the existing debt will need to be
written off in the coming years. Will it be done deliberately, fairly, and
systematically, or in a chaotic collapse of the global financial system?

If you want to understand what is happening on the global financial front,
please watch this dialog between Chris Martenson and James Turk* *as they
talk about Europe and the global economy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BsMj59hyJOQ.

And for a good understanding of the underlying factors that are bringing an
the end to growth, and to get some direction on what to do to adapt, you
may want to consult the following:

   - Richard Heinberg (*The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economy*),
   - Michael Ruppert (*Confronting Collapse: The Crisis of Energy and Money
   in a Post Peak Oil World *and *Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the
   American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil*),
   - Chris Martenson (*The Crash
Course<http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chrismartenson.com%2Fcrashcourse&ei=CDbuTo2DEuGuiQL4x-zsAw&usg=AFQjCNE0QXjjXE6AXx3KRZ2FhPtDoJ7sEA&sig2=Bu99kPh6d7859CDC2VaUiA>
   *).

*The Occupy Movement*

Over the past several weeks, I’ve posted a number of comments and links to
materials about the Occupy movement. The most recent of these highlights a
panel session that was held on November 10th at the New School in New York
City. The panel was titled, *Occupy Everywhere: On the New Politics and
Possibilities of the Movement Against Corporate Power*. It featured
Oscar-winning filmmaker and author Michael Moore; Naomi Klein, best-selling
author of the *Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism*; Rinku Sen
of the Applied Research Center and publisher of *ColorLines*; Occupy Wall
Street organizer Patrick Bruner; and journalist William Greider,
author of *Come
Home America*, *Who Will Tell the People?, and,* *Secrets of the
Temple*(about the Federal Reserve). The panelists provided some
interesting
perspectives on the movement. You can find the video and a transcript of
the proceedings at the Democracy
Now!<http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/25/occupy_everywhere_michael_moore_naomi_klein>website.

Yes! Magazine, in conjunction with Berrett-Koehler Publishers, has just
come out with an excellent booklet, *This Changes Everything*, which both
describes and gives some direction to the Occupy movement.

“*This Changes Everything* shows how the movement is shifting the way
people view themselves and the world, the kind of society they believe is
possible, and their own involvement in creating a society that works for
the 99% rather than just the 1%.”

It features brief statements by more than a dozen leading voices, including
David Korten, Naomi Klein, and Ralph Nader. You can get a copy from Yes!
Magazine. <http://store.yesmagazine.org/this-changes-everything>

I’m confident that what began as a protest and expression of
dissatisfaction with the status quo will quickly shift into a broad-based
citizens’ movement to establish a true government “by the people and for
the people” and a world that works for all. If you’re not already a part of
this exciting process, *Get Informed and get onboard…*

*Plato o plomo***

I recently read the book, *Killing Pablo*, a story written by Mark
Bowden (*Black
Hawk Down*). I didn’t seek it out, it just appeared, so I grabbed it. It’s
all about money, drugs, power, violence, and corruption, specifically
related to the Columbian drug cartels and Pablo Escobar. It is an
astounding example of the breakdown of law and order and the corrupting
power of extreme wealth, particularly when in the hands of ruthless
sociopaths. That is not to say that Escobar was the only one using the
tactics of violence and terror. In the end, it seems it was the use of
those same tactics by paramilitary groups with shadowy connections to both
the Columbian and U.S. governments that brought Escobar down.

This is a chilling story of what can happen when terror, intimidation, and
assassinations become a way of political life. The cartels and power
brokers had (have?) a way of posing a choice to the government and military
officials they sought to corrupt—*plato o plomo*, (silver or lead)? That
was no idle threat. The cartel(s) had (have?) the wherewithal to carry it
out. No one was safe in Columbia during that time. They could protect
neither themselves nor their families. Police, soldiers, politicians,
legislators, and judges were assassinated by the thousands, their family
members kidnapped and often murdered, and innocent civilians killed in
frequent bombings. This is a book that will cure you of any residual
naiveté you may have regarding money, power, and politics.

*THRIVE*

I recently viewed the movie *THRIVE: What on Earth Will it
Take?<http://www.thrivemovement.com/>
*, and attended a discussion group about it in Berkeley. The movie, a
documentary produced by Foster Gamble, addresses the same basic questions
that set me on my current path many years ago, namely, why is there so much
suffering and deprivation amidst great opulence, and why is the earth being
continually despoiled with no end in sight? What will it take to enable
everyone on the planet to live a dignified life and realize their full
potential?

While some may not relate well to the first part of the movie that
considers free energy and UFOs, the movie is well worth viewing for its
description of the domineering mindset and elite control that characterize
our present reality, and for its inspirational vision of what our future
could be. THRIVE groups are springing up in many places as people seek to
understand the dimensions of our situation, and to help one another decide
on appropriate actions.

*     *     *
 Finally, this verse from a Christmas card caught my eye:

*        May the true meaning of Christmas fill your heart with happiness
all year!*

Whatever your religious background might be, I invite you to contemplate
these questions, *What is the true meaning of Christmas?* What is it that
all religions are supposed to provide? How can we make religion a force
that brings us all together instead of one that separates us?

And here is my wish for the New Year, and forever more—
*        Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward All!*

Tom
*     *     *
Thomas H. Greco, Jr.
 thg at mindspring.com
Beyond Money: http://beyondmoney.net
Tom's News and Views: http://tomazgreco.wordpress.com
Archive Website: http://www.Reinventingmoney.com
Skype/Twitter name: tomazgreco
My latest book, "The End of Money and the Future of Civilization" can be
ordered from Chelsea Green Publishing, Amazon.com, or your local bookshop.



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